“I hate the stuff” says one of my friends of marzipan. “Is it actually supposed to be edible?” asks another!
I too was a marzipan skeptic until I saw the light (or tasted it!). But I’m a picky convert – only the best Marzipan for me!
Because there is marzipan and then there is - Marzipan.
True and scrumptious Marzipan is made with 100% almond paste with as little sugar as possible. Some of the cheap imitations include persipan which is made from ground peach or almond kernels or marzipans made from soy paste (yuck!?).
There is Marzipan to bake with – and that is what it should be used for – baking. It is not the Marzipan that you want to be eating unadorned. But in a Stollen or a plum tart – wow!
And then there is the real stuff – Marzipan made with almond paste that is ground from sweet almonds and has a rich, nutty taste and then mixed with honey or sugar. And in classical German style, there are government directives that dictate the almond oil content at 14% in true Marzipan.
Also very German of it is that the best Marzipan comes from a certain city. In the same way that the carved wood Smoker (or Räuchermann) are famously from the Ore Mountains south of Leipzig and Mozart-Kugeln famously from the Salzburg area, the best Marzipan is from the city of Lübeck in northern Germany.
One of the most well-known brands from Lübeck is Niederegger and we’ve fallen hard for their yummy treats! There are so many options to choose from and I enjoy most of them. Of course they are all covered in scrumptious chocolate. The Marzipan comes in different flavors – some with a liqueur infusion.
Because I am so committed to my work and to my customers, I volunteer for the tough job of tasting the Lebkuchen and chocolate and Marzipan before we add it to our line. And in the battle for Top Pick of the Marzipan Chocolate Bars my choices are:
1. Niederegger Milk Chocolate Marzipan Bar
2. Schogetten Dark Chocolate Bar with Marzipan Cream Filling
3. Neideregger Dark Chocolate with Orange Marzipan Bar
And the winner is….
I can’t decide between 1 and 2. It’s a tie – Niederegger Milk Chocolate Marzipan and Schogetten Dark Chocolate Marzipan Cream! One easy bite of either of these splendid Marzipan bars will have you swooning over Marzipan!
(I can’t wait for the Christmas Assortment packages to arrive fresh from Germany later this month. Lots of interesting flavors in beautiful packaging! And the Dark Chocolate Marzipan Cherries - but that's a whole other Blog article!!!!).
What do YOU think? Have you fallen in love with Marzipan? And what about those little pigs and potatoes???
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